QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.7md

Earthquake near Soledad, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Soledad in the 24 hours to 5:17 am PST (13:17 UTC). The last one was M 3.0, 26 km (16 mi) N, at 2:58 pm PDT on 22 October 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town. Every earthquake near Soledad

This page: a magnitude 1.7 earthquake was recorded 49 km (31 mi) east of Soledad, CA, at 4:01 pm PDT on 14 July 2024 (23:01 UTC), 13 km deep. 1 person has reported feeling it to USGS.

USGS: 9 km WNW of New Idria, CA

4:01 pm PDT, Jul 14, 2024 · · 13 km deep · released about 12 lb of TNT

10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Benito County 34 kmMonterey County 53 kmMerced County 85 kmKings County 95 kmFresno County 106 kmSanta Clara County 120 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
4:01 pm PDT on 14 July 2024 ()
Where
49 km (31 mi) east of Soledad, CA · earthquakes near Soledad
Magnitude
M 1.7 (md)
Depth
13 km below the surface
Felt
1 report
Nearest
San Benito County, 34 km NW
Nearest mapped fault
San Andreas fault, 17 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 848 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 1 km (1 mi) from the epicentre. In Soledad, 49 km away, the estimate is intensity I (not felt). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 12 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.7 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 1,200,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 870,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 78× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.7 about 12 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.6 on 2017-11-13 — about 18,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 14 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km; the five largest:

  1. 6.7 The 1983 Coalinga, California Earthquake · 47 km ESE of this epicentre
  2. 6.1 Northwest of Huron, California · 17 km ENE of this epicentre
  3. 5.8 Near Paicines, California · 50 km WNW of this epicentre
  4. 5.8 29 km NE of San Lucas, California · 15 km S of this epicentre
  5. 5.5 11 km NNE of Coalinga, California · 49 km ESE of this epicentre

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 36.4352, -120.7737. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Benito County, CA 34 km (21 mi) NW earthquakes near San Benito County
Monterey County, CA 53 km (33 mi) WSW earthquakes near Monterey County
Merced County, CA 85 km (53 mi) N earthquakes near Merced County
Kings County, CA 95 km (59 mi) ESE earthquakes near Kings County
Fresno County, CA 106 km (66 mi) ENE earthquakes near Fresno County
Santa Clara County, CA 120 km (74 mi) NW earthquakes near Santa Clara County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

41 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.6 3 km SE of San Ardo, CA
  2. 1.9 5 km WSW of New Idria, CA
  3. 1.8 9 km NNE of Pinnacles, CA
  4. 1.5 5 km NW of Pinnacles, CA
  5. 2.1 5 km NNW of Pinnacles, CA
  6. 1.8 5 km NNW of Pinnacles, CA
  7. 1.7 20 km SW of South Dos Palos, CA
  8. 1.7 23 km WSW of New Idria, CA
  9. 1.7 5 km NE of Pinnacles, CA
  10. 2.1 14 km SSE of Tres Pinos, CA
  11. 2.3 12 km SSW of Cantua Creek, CA
  12. 1.8 23 km E of San Ardo, CA
  13. 2.0 13 km NNE of Coalinga, CA
  14. 2.2 25 km NNW of Parkfield, CA
  15. 2.2 25 km E of San Ardo, CA

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.